The Kept Secret
by tewin
Summary: Two friends fell in-love. Is it good or bad? Oh please send me some reviews! Please, please, please!


"THE KEPT SECRET"  
  
Staring at the darkness outside, Harry sighed. He could hear Hermoine's soft giggle as Ron continue throwing jokes at her. He sneaked a glance at her, he sighed again, 'She's really enjoying his company.' He thought, 'I'd better leave. I'm just a disturbance. If I'll walk silently back up to the dormitories, maybe they wouldn't notice me.' But as he started to go up the stairs, he heard Hermoine call him, "Harry, where are you going?" he stopped dead in his tracks and turned to them, "I'm going to bed. I think I'll call it a day." She laughed softly which made Harry's heart beat fast, "You're getting bored aren't you?" she said and he shrugged in reply. "Go on then and dream about your DREAM GIRL," she teased then she and Ron laughed. He tried to laugh with them but to him it sounded a bit like a sob. "Tell us all about your dream tomorrow, mate!" said Ron then he turned back to Hermoine who smiled at Harry and said, "Goodnight, Harry!" and he managed to murmur, "G'night," then he left the common room. He went on up and entered their dormitory once he got there, changed into his pajamas and crawled under the covers. The room was very quiet except for Neville's snores. He stared up at the ceiling. Downstairs, he could still hear Hermoine's giggle. 'Why does it hurt? Ron's my friend, and I shouldn't be jealous because Hermoine had just picked him to be her boyfriend. But why couldn't I stop feeling jealous?' he thought. It had just been a week when Ron had asked Hermoine to be his girl. Hermoine was as shocked as he was. But he got more shocked when Hermoine said that she'd be his girl. Harry wondered why it just hurts him to watch the two of them together and very happy with each other's company. He wondered why it hurts every time he sees them looking at each other with those longing looks and why it hurts every time he would see Hermoine give Ron her sweetest smile. He wondered about this all week and found out that he had fallen in-love with his best friends' girl who also happens to be his best friend too. Realizing this, he decided to keep this to himself even if it would hurt him to watch the two of them having fun with each other. It was already eleven o'clock when he heard the door opening. Harry quickly closed his eyes and feigned sleep. He listened as Ron rummaged through his things. Then he heard the shuffling of blankets and later on heard the peaceful breathing. Harry tuned and saw that Ron had fallen fast asleep. He couldn't help feeling guilty. Why should he feel this kind of emotion towards Hermoine? Why couldn't be any other girl in school? Why couldn't it be Parvati? Or Padma? Or Cho? Or Susan? Why should it have to be Hermoine? Why? Why? Why? Trying to erase all thoughts from his head, he closed his eyes yet again and tried his hardest to catch some sleep. After a few minutes, he drifted to sleep. And Hermoine was right, he dreamt about his DREAM GIRL. her.  
....................................  
  
It was almost Halloween when Dumbledore informed them, at dinner, that there was to be a Halloween ball in the school for a change. After the Yule Ball in their fourth year during the Triwizard Tournament, another one would be held. Everyone was very excited especially when Dumbledore mentioned that every student should have a partner on that occasion. Ron and Hermoine got excited at this announcement but Harry just groaned inwardly. The students started discussing about the ball with so much excitement. But Harry remained quiet and had made up a decision, HE WILL NOT ATTEND THE BALL. Anyway, if he would go, who would he bring? He remembered his date during the Yule Ball and he didn't want to bring Parvati again. That date had been a big failure! He toyed with his food as he thought of Hermoine dancing happily with Ron on the ball. He did not notice that Hermoine had been watching him closely. It was not until Hermoine placed her hand on top of his and asked him, "Harry, what's the matter?" He looked at her and said with a shrug, "Nothing, I just thought that this ball is a bad idea."  
Slightly frowning Hermoine said, "How come it's a bad idea? Everybody's excited about it! How come you say that it's a bad idea?" before he could reply, Ron had interrupted, "C'mon Hermoine, can't you see? He hasn't anyone to bring to the ball!" then he tuned to Harry, "Am I right, mate?" Harry did not reply but simply nodded and went on playing with his food. For a few minutes, they fell silent that he thought the subject about the ball had been drooped but he was wrong for Hermoine continued, "Why not bring Parvati? You brought her to the Yule Ball last year, why not invite her to the Halloween Ball?" she suggested. Harry turned to her in disbelief, "Hermoine, that date was a big 'F'! So I will not bring her to the ball with me! And anyway, I won't be coming to the ball," the topic about the ball was already upsetting him that he decided to go up to the common room. Leaving Hermoine with a look of concern and Ron with an amused one. ....................................  
  
The Halloween Ball finally came. When everything was finally prepared, something happened. Ron fell down the stairs and sprained his ankle. Harry quickly brought him to the hospital wing. And when Hermoine found out, she quickly went to the hospital wing and found Ron sitting on the bed with his ankle in a cast. She quickly rushed to his side and gave him a very tight hug that made Harry's twitch with jealousy. "Ron! How clumsy could you get!" she said, "The ball's tonight and look at what you've done! You've sprained yourself! Looks like I won't be going to the ball after all!" she said with a bit of disappointment in her voice. Harry noticed this and somehow Ron did too. Ron turned to Harry and gave him a wink, Harry frowned at this and didn't understand. Not until Ron said, "Oh! I won't be a spoilsport!" with this Hermoine looked up at him with a slight frown, "What are you talking about, Ron?" she asked and waited for him to answer. "I mean, you still can go to the ball!" he said and Hermoine's eyes widened, "Are you crazy!? That's going to humiliate me, Ron! And I won't go there alone!" she said "Who says you're going there on your own?" Frowning, "I don't understand," Ron gave an exasperated sigh before continuing, "Since Harry here does not have a partner, why don't the two of you go to the ball together?" he suggested which made Harry blink. Ron turned back to his girlfriend who was looking at him with amazed eyes, "Hermoine, look," he shifted uncomfortably on the bed, then continued, "I know how much you want to go to the ball but for now, I can't come with you. And Harry here is the one who's available at the moment, so I think that he could accompany you there." Both Harry and Ron waited for Hermoine's answer. Ron with anticipation but more on tension on Harry's part, 'Will she agree or not?' he thought, 'Probably not,' he added as an afterthought. But he almost jumped for joy when Hermoine replied, "Well. why not?" she turned to Harry, "Are you up to it, Harry?" "W-why not?" he replied. ....................................  
  
Later that night, Harry entered the Great Hall with Hermoine in his arms. He tried so hard not to stare at her all night when all he wanted to do was exactly the opposite. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her endlessly. He looked at her again and noticed that she had her hair into a bun. She had somehow managed to charm her hair to make it look straight. The music began and he invited Hermoine to dance with him. She obliged willingly. He led her to the dance floor and placed his arms around her as they swayed with the music. He held her tight but not that tight. He could smell the fragrance of her hair. It smelled of flowers in the spring. The music was ending but Harry did not want it to last so soon. He still wants to hold her in his arms. He sighed as he loosened his grip on her, 'If only I could hold her like this forever and never let go. But I know that I could never have her.' he thought. They went back to their table where Ginny, Neville, Luna, Seamus and some more Gryffindors were sitting [Luna was the only Ravenclaw in that table but somehow she didn't mind at all]. Harry was having the fun of his life especially when Hermoine's just sitting beside him and looking more beautiful than ever. Somehow, though he knew that he should not think like it, Harry was grateful of Ron's accident. Because if it wasn't for that, he wouldn't be with Hermoine right now. After having a hearty dinner, he invited her to have a walk with him down the lawn to the lake. They walked together silently. Harry's heart was swelling with joy. He could not think of any other person to be with him on that beautiful night but only Hermoine. Then he heard her sigh, "What's wrong?" he asked. She turned to him and said, "It's just that, Ron should've been the one with me tonight," It him that had just agreed to go with him because Ron said so but she hadn't really wanted to go to this ball with him, " Are you saying that you really didn't enjoy my company, is that it?" he said and was not able to hide the hurt in his voice. Hermoine's eyes widened. "Harry, that's not what I meant. It's just that---- ," but Harry had raised up his hand to stop her from talking, "No, Hermoine, I understand." He looked up at the sky, "We'd better get back inside. It's already getting cold out here." And the night went on with Harry feeling depressed. ....................................  
  
Hermoine was not able to sleep that night. She kept thinking about Harry's hurt voice, about his sad smile after their talk by the lake. Why had he acted that way? She asked herself. 'He wasn't like that when we entered the Great Hall. What then had caused his depression?' she thought. She tossed and turned in her bed but sleep just wouldn't come to her. 'Maybe I'll just ask him about it tomorrow,' she thought. But she wasn't able to talk to him the next day for Harry had gone to Magid school. "Magid school?! [school for students who have more than extraordinary powers]" she asked incredulously to Ron. She found him in the Great Hall having a hearty breakfast. "Yes, he left early just this morning--- no, wait a minute, he left at dawn. Yeah, that's right." Ron said. "But-but who sent him there?" "Well, last night, when Harry entered our dormitory and was already about to crawl to bed, Dean told him that Dumbledor had been looking for him and that if he ever arrives, he'd tell Harry that he must go straight up to Dumbledor's office." He took off a huge bite on his chicken before he continued. "And when Harry went up to his office, Dumbledor told him that he would be leaving at dawn, along with other students, to Magid School. I really envy him, you know." He said and went on eating heartily that he was not able to see the hurt in her eyes. She sat across Ron staring fixedly at the wall. "Why didn't he tell me about this?" she murmured to herself but apparently, Ron heard her. "Well, Hermoine, you really can't blame Harry, can you? I mean it was sort of a rush-rush, and you can't expect him to go up to the girls' dormitories and go knocking on your door, especially when there's a charm to fend off boys from going there. So it really wasn't his fault at all. Anyway, he'll be back after three months. " For awhile, Hermoine just watched Ron eat but a thought crossed her mind, "Ron," "Yeah?" "Did Harry tell you to tell me that he was leaving?" she asked and anticipated his answer "As a matter of fact, I wondered why he didn't. To tell you honestly, he looked like he was really depressed when he left. 'Seemed like something was bothering him. But when I asked him what his problem was he just answered, 'Nothing that I can't handle,' and I took his word for it." Then he took a big gulp on his juice before he looked at Hermoine, "Why are you so bothered anyway?" "Uh-uh, nothing," she shook her head then stood up, "Nothing," then she left the table "Hey! Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" Ron called She turned to him, "I think I lost my appetite," then she walked out of the Great Hall. ....................................  
  
Hermoine found herself walking around Hogwarts with no precise direction. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that she had entered a room that wasn't really a classroom. She kept thinking, 'Why had he left without informing me?' or 'Is he really that upset with me?' or maybe 'What is there to be upset about?' Suddenly a door banged and Hermoine snapped back to reality. She found herself in a dusty, old, empty room. She tried to open the door but then it wouldn't budge. Stepping aside, she took out her wand and pointed it at the lock, "Alohomora!" she said but still the door wouldn't open. She examined the room and found out that it wasn't empty after all. For there in the middle of the room was magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. And there was inscription carved around the top: 'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt wohsi'. Unable to resist the beauty of the mirror and also curious, Hermoine stepped in front of the mirror. At first she only saw her reflection, but then suddenly, a blurred reflection of a person appeared behind her. The reflection became clear and Hermoine gasped when she realized that it was Harry! "Harry! I thought you were at Magid School!" she said and turned around to greet him. But there was no Harry there! She turned back to the mirror and Harry was still there smiling at her that almost made her heart skip. Then she watched as Harry raised his arm and placed it around her as if he was hugging her from behind. But she couldn't feel anything. She looked back at the mirror and now found herself hugging Harry in return. Her eyes widened when she saw that he had kissed her, not on the cheeks where it is proper for a friend to kiss a friend but it was on the lips where a lover kisses his loved one. She turned away from the mirror and panted. 'What is this mirror? Why does it show Harry and me kissing?' She pondered on this thought and pondered and pondered and pondered. And then it hit her! This was the Mirror of Erised! The mirror that would show you your deepest desires. 'And now it is showing me Harry, does that mean that I desire him?' she asked herself, 'Maybe not, but why am I feeling that the mirror is correct?' She turned back to the mirror, and she saw the two of them hugging each other now. And now she had the inner desire of wanting to feel Harry's arms around her. 'Oh my god! Is the mirror correct? Do I actually desire Harry? Have I actually fallen in love with my best friend? But no! This can't be! I'm Ron's girlfriend and I just can't fall in love with two persons at the same time!' but then a voice deep inside her thoughts argued, 'But do you really love Ron? Or are you just inviting the idea that you love him?' "But of course I love him!" she said out loud ' But then, why are you feeling a much stronger emotion towards Harry?' her mind argued "Because----because h-he's my friend!" she said but even to her own ears, she thinks that didn't sound so convincing. 'Really now?' her mind taunted "Y-yes! Really! And why am I debating with myself?!" she sighed then took one last look at the smiling Harry. "I think I've gone mad!" ....................................  
  
Harry entered the Great Hall together with Draco Malfoy and some other students who were chosen to go to the Magid School. They received a loud applause when they appeared to everyone. He felt overwhelmed! It was indeed an honor to be given the chance to go to Magid School. Placing a smile on his lips, he scanned the hall hoping to find his target. And there, at the Gryffindor table he saw her sitting beside Ron.  
"Harry! Come over here, mate!" Ron called to him.  
He then went towards the table and sat across Hermoine. A plate magically appeared before him.  
"Welcome back, mate!" Ron greeted  
"W-welcome back, H-Harry," Hermoine greeted  
Harry turned to her. Was she nervous? He could sense that she was tense. He saw her give him a smile and he found it was very hard to resist that he had to smile back.  
"Yeah, it's good to be back." He said and glanced at Hermoine.  
"So how was Magid School? Was it difficult? Or was it very difficult?" asked Ron as he took a sip from his juice.  
"Well it wasn't that bad, I mean they just taught us on how not to use a magic wand during fights. It was really fun, you know." He replied.  
"'Not using wands? Wow! That's cool! So does that mean that you can already cast a spell even without the help of wands?" Ron asked with excitement  
Harry only nodded with a small smile on his lips. Suddenly, Hermoine stood up. "Excuse me," she said then walked away.  
"What's wrong with her? Had the two of you had a fight?" asked Harry.  
"No, we haven't. I'm even wondering why she's acting very strange these past few months myself." Ron said with a sigh. ....................................  
The next passing months passed by normally. Their grades remained normal, Snape still continued to hate the Gryffindors, they even won the Quidditch cup, everything was normal. Even secret feelings were kept secret. But Harry had noticed something that the others hadn't. Ron and Hermoine's relationship seemed to be falling apart! And then one day, Harry found out that that couple had already broken up and Ron was now seeing Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw one year their junior.  
One night, Harry was on his way up to the dormitories when he found Ron sitting by the fire, reading a book. 'Maybe I could ask him what really happened to him and Hermoine.' He thought as he slowly walked towards his friend. "Hey Ron!" he called and Ron turned to him.  
"Harry! Been to the library I presume?" Ron asked.  
"Yep! Been having a hard time reviewing my lessons." Harry paused before hesitating to continue, "Umm.Ron, can I ask you something?"  
"Fire away!" he said.  
Harry cleared his throat before speaking, "I hope you won't get offended but I just want to ask you, what really happened between you and Hermoine?"  
Ron wasn't able to speak for a while. But then he sighed and spoke, "Well, nothing much, said she fell in-love with someone else and that it would be unfair to me if she continued on pretending that she was in-love with me."  
Harry frowned, "And what's your reaction to that?"  
Ron just shrugged, "BLANK. Nothing, I was already expecting it to happen and anyway, I was really having interest on Luna then." He said then gave Harry a mischievous grin, which Harry returned.  
Ron stood up, "I'd better go up now, mate, it's bloody late! Well, g'night!" then started walking up the stairs leading to the boys dormitories leaving Harry full with thoughts. "Oh! By the way, before I forget!" Harry turned with raised eyebrows and saw Ron on the steps of the stairs, "That someone else Hermoine fell in-love with was.YOU!" he said with an ear-to-ear grin, "G'night, mate!" then he continued walking up the stairs.  
'ME?! Did my ears deceive me?!' he asked himself, 'But it couldn't be!' he paced up the common room while thinking. 'Well.there's only one way to find out.' ....................................  
Hermoine climbed up the portrait hole of the fat lady and entered the silent and dark Gryffindor common room. She was about to climb the stairs up to the girls' dormitories when she heard her name being called by the voice that visits her dreams every night. She turned and saw the person she'd been wanting to see although she saw him everyday but not that too close anymore.  
''Good evening, Hermoine." Harry said.  
She gave a curt nod and tried hard to make her expression blank, "Good evening, Harry. Still up at this late hour?"  
He nodded, "Yup! I've been waiting for you." He said.  
She frowned, "Waiting for me? Why?"  
He shrugged, "I just have some questions to ask." Casually, he replied.  
Hermoine took in a deep breath, "W-well.fire away!"  
Harry looked deep into her eyes, "You and Ron broke up because there was a third party, right?" he asked and she nodded, "and is it true that.I am the someone else you said to Ron whom you fell in-love with?" he asked, nervously this time.  
Hermoine's eyes widened, 'Oh my god! Did Ron tell him?' "H-how did.h- how did you know?"  
Harry sighed, "It doesn't matter how I knew it, I just want you to answer my question. Is it I? Or not?" he asked.  
She looked deep in his eyes. And saw an emotion she never saw in there before.LOVE. She didn't know how long they just stared at each other until she felt Harry's hands cup her face, "Hermoine?"  
She sighed, "Oh Harry!" then she threw her arms around him and hugged him close to her. And Harry responded with equal fervor. Then she heard him whisper, "Does this mean that you love me?"  
She nodded against his chest and felt a single tear drop from her eyes. "Yes."  
Harry cupped her face in his hands again, "Oh Hermoine!" then he did what he'd been wanting to do for so long. He kissed her senseless which she responded so eagerly.  
  
***I hope you enjoyed reading the story. And please send me your reviews. You may write whatever criticism you might want to write. Oh please, please, please send me your reviews.***  
  
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